Refrigerator shelves



Sept. 6, 1955 w, E G ET AL 2,717,189

REFRIGERATOR SHELVES Filed Jan. 31, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l /d /d #621 K4 in {4 6a 0 4 JNVENTORS Sept. 6, 1955 w. D. TEAGUE ET AL Y 2,717,189

I REFRIGERATOR SHELVES Filed Jan. :51, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS M4750 0. 7Zwa y 567M000 a Mass r/va- United States Patent 2,717,189 7 REFRIGERATOR SHELVES Walter D. Teague, Annandale, N. J., and Seymour D. Wassyng, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignors to Servel, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application January 31, 1952, Serial No. 269,228

3 Claims. (Cl. 312-351) Our invention relates to refrigerators and more particularly to shelves and shelf arrangements for domestic or household refrigerators.

With domestic refrigerators, the manufacturer is always faced with the problem of dividing the interior or food storage space of his refrigerators in a manner that the area of the shelf surface and the volume of the food storage space be available for the most convenient and economical use of the individual purchaser.

An ideal arrangement is one whereby all foodstuff may be stored in a refrigerator so as to be readily accessible and cooled to the desired temperature without wasting space and without the inconvenience of having to remove one article of food in order to reach another article.

To this end various means, such as flat shelves adjustable to different levels, part shelves or the like have been suggested in the past. However, such structures have either lacked versatility or they have been too complicated and expensive to manufacture for sale in the present day competitive market.

We have invented a simple and inexpensive shelf and shelf arrangement adapted particularly for use with a domestic refrigerator.

Our invention enables the housewife to shift shelves quickly and custom-fit the interior of the refrigerator to the family needs. It gives the housewife made-to-measure space for tall bottles and bulky foods, on one hand, and for short containers and comparatively small foods on the other. Within limits, to assure proper refrigeration, different foods may be placed adjacent to or at a distance from the freezing compartment or cooling element, regardless of the size or shape of the food. The interior of the refrigerator may be fashioned to the fancy of the user whether the refrigerator be provided with a right or a left hand door.

Briefly, our invention includes a stepped or dog-legged shelf formed of two horizontal surfaces of different widths and of the same depth rigidly connected and, held in vertical spaced relation by integral vertical posts, risers,

or'the like. The combined width of the two horizontal surfaces is substantially the same as the width of the interior or food storage compartment of the refrigerator as on the side walls of the liner, we provide a pluralityof shelf supports that are uniformly spaced in a vertical direction. The vertical spacing of the shelf supports, or the vertical distance between adjacent shelf supports, is the same as the height of the posts or risers that connect and hold the two horizontal surfaces of the stepped shelf in vertical spaced relation.

When our stepped shelf is located in a refrigerator, one side edge of the shelf is supported in a given horizontal plane by the shelf supports on one side of the food compartment, and the opposite side edge of the shelf is supported by the shelf supports on the opposite side of the food compartment in a different horizontal plane,

2,717,189 Patented Sept. 6, 1955 straight shelves to beus'ed will depend upon the size of the food storage compartment of the refrigerator.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description,'taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and of which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of one type of refrigerator.shcwing shelves in accordance with our invention;

Figs. 2 3 and 4 are front elevations of th'erefrigerator shown in Fig. 1 and illustrating various arrangements of v the shelves in accordance with ourinvention;

Fig. 5 is a perspective of a second type of refrigerator showing shelves in accordance with our invention; and

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are front elevations of the refrigerator shown in Fig. 5 and illustrating various arrangements of our improved shelves when used with this type of refrigerator. p

' In Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, our invention is shown incorporated in a domestic refrigerator 10 of the type having an upper or horizontal freezing compartment 12 and a lower food storage compartment 14, with an insulating partition 16 therebetween. The refrigerator is provided with an outer door 18, and a separate inner door 20 is provided for closing the freezing compartment 12. The inner door 20 is preferably. made of glass or other transparent material. The food storage compartment 14 is bounded by a liner 22. The'freezing compartment 12 and the food storage compartment 14'may be cooled by any suitable refrigeratingv apparatus, not shown. The above refrigerator structure is .more or less conventional and only so much of such structure as is necessaryv for a complete understanding of our invention has been illustrated. For example, and for clarity of illustration, the outer door 18 has been omitted in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

' In accordance with our invention, thev liner 22 is provided with a plurality of shelf supporting members 24 spaced uniformly on each side of the liner. The shelf supporting members 24 may be of any suitable construction such as posts, brackets, guide'rails or the like, so

long as each support .of a set'is in the same horizontal ports is uniform. As shown, the supports 24are formed" as pegs'or brackets on the front and rear of each side of the liner. "A pluralityof stepped or dog-legged shelves 26 and a straight shelf 28 are removably mounted in vertical spaced relation von the supports 24.

The straight shelf 28 is of. more or. less conventional constructionand such shelf, except as it is used in combination with one or more of our 'novel stepped shelves, is not clai'med to be new. The stepped shelves 26 are substantially identical and are formed of two horizontal supporting surfaces 26 and 26 ofv different widths connected and held in vertical spaced relation by integral risers orconnecting members 26. It is to be particularly noted that the height of the risers 26 is the same as the width of the straight shelf 28, is the same as the width of the compartment 14. With this arrangement, as de scribed hereinafter, the stepped shelves and the straight shelf are interchangeable and may be variously arranged within the compartment. In the particular illustration, the width of section 26 of the stepped shelf is approximately one hlaf of the width of section 26 and the height of the riser 26 is approximately one half of the width of section 26?. However, this relationship may be varied in accordance with the dimensions of the food compartment 14.

. A pair of vegetable fresheners 30, 30, provided with individual glass covers 32, 32, are located in the lower portion of the, food storage compartment 14. The fresheners 30 and the covers 32 are separably mounted on side rails 34 and center rails 36 in a known manner so that either or both of the fresheners may be withdrawn from the refrigerator without disturbing the covers and without disturbing any foodstuff that may be resting upon the covers.

In Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive of the drawings our invention is shown incorporated in a domestic refrigerator 10' having a box type evaporator or freezing compartment 12'. The freezing compartment 12 is located in the upper portion of the refrigerator at one side thereof, and thefood storage compartment 14 extends into the upper portion of the refrigerator between the freezing compartment and the opposite side of the liner. The refrigerator is provided with an outer door 18 and the freezing compartment 12' is provided with a separate inner door 20. The liner 22, the shelf supports 24, the stepped shelves 26, the straight shelf 28, the fresheners 3t) and the covers 32 are of the same general construction in Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive as that illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive. further detailed description of these elements is deemed unnecessary. In Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive one or more auxiliary straight shelves 38 may be provided in the upper portion of the food storage compartment 14'. 3 and 4, the outer door 18 has been omitted in Figs. 6, 7 and 8.

It is to be noted from the relationship of the size and shape of each of the stepped shelves 26 and of the spacing of the shelf supports 24 that each of the shelves 26 may be placed on the supports in at least four different positions. For example, starting from a first position a given shelf may be turned upside-down to a second position, from the second position the shelf may be turned end-for-end to a third position, from the third position the shelf may be turned down-side-up to a fourth position on the same sets of supports, and in each such position the supporting surfaces 26 and 26 will always be horizontal.

With two such dog-legged or stepped shelves 26 and one straight shelf, for example, and with the proper spacing of the supports 24 relative to height of the risers 26 I of the stepped shelves, storage spaces of various heights and widths may be arranged within the food storage compartment. The widths of such spaces may be one, two,

or three horizontal units and the heights may be one, two

or three vertical units.

In Fig. 3 for example, the shelves are arranged in a manner as to divide the food storage compartment 14 into a space A of two horizontal and two vertical units, a space E of one horizontal and one. vertical unit, a space C of two horizontal and one vertical units, a space D of one horizontal and three vertical units, a space E of two horizontal and two vertical units, a space F of one horizontal and one vertical unit and a space G of three horizontal and one vertical units. I

In Fig. 4 the shelves are arranged so as to divide the storage compartment 14 into a space A of two horizontal and one vertical units, a space E of one horizontal and two vertical units, a space C of two horizontal and three vertical units, a space E of two horizontal and one vertical units, a space F of one horizontal and two vertical units and a space G of three horizontal and one vertical units.

The size and shape of the food storage spaces afforded by the arrangement of the shelves illustrated in Figs. 1, 2

Therefore As in Figs. 2,

Cir

4 and S to 8 inclusive will be apparent from an inspection of these figures of the drawings. Also, in Fig. 1, in order to clearly illustrate one of the stepped shelves 226 in perspective, the lowermost of such shelves is devoid of foodstuff, and in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 foodstuff has been omitted from the shelves in order to more clearly show the shape and size of the several storage spaces offered by the shelf arrangements illustrated in these figures.

Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains, and it will, of course, be understood that changes in form, proportions and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a refrigerator having a liner bounding a food storage compartment, a plurality of shelf supports; arranged in vertical spaced relation on different walls of said liner and a stepped shelf supported on said shelf; supports, said plurality of shelf supports including supports on one wall of the liner in the same horizontal plane as supports on another wall thereof, and said stepped shelf including a plurality of horizontal supporting surfaces of different widths arranged in different horizontal planes and connected by vertical connecting means into a unitary shelf structure of substantially the same width as the width of said compartment, the height of said vertical connecting means being substantially the same as the vertical spacing of said plurality of shelf supports, and said stepped shelf being reversible end-forend and top-for-bottom relative to said shelf supports and to said compartment from certain shelf supports located in two certain horizontal planes to other shelf sup- -1 ports located in the said two horizontal planes. M 2. In a refrigerator having a liner bounding a food storage compartment, a plurality of shelf supports arranged in vertical spaced relation on opposite side walls of said liner and a plurality of shelves each of substantially the same width and depth as the width and depth of said storage compartment, said plurality of shelves including at least one straightshelf supported on directly opposite shelf supports on opposite sides of said storage compartment and spanning said compartment in a single horizontal plane and at least one stepped shelf supported on said shelf supports at different levels on opposite sides of said compartment and having surfaces thereof jointly spanning said compartment in at least two horizontal planes, said stepped shelf including at least two horizontal supporting surfaces of different widths arranged in different horizontal planes and vertical connecting means uniting said horizontal surfaces into a unitary shelf structure, the height of said connecting means being substantially the same as the vertical spacing of 7 said shelf supports on each side of said liner, all of said plurality of shelves being interchangeable for different locations relative to each other within said storage compartment and said stepped shelf being reversible endfor-end and top-for-bottom relativeto said supporting means within said compartment.

3. In a refrigerator having a liner bounding a food storage compartment, a plurality of shelf support-s arranged in vertical spaced relation on opposite side walls of said liner and a plurality of stepped shelves supported by said shelf supports in vertical spaced relation in said storage compartment, each of said stepped shelves including two vertically spaced horizontal supporting sur- 1 faces of unequal widths and of the same depth, the com- 2,717,189 5 6 tical spacing of said shelf supports, whereby each of said References Cited in the file of this patent stepped shelves may be supported in said storage com- 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS partment in any one of a plurality of positions with the supporting surfaces thereof in difierent horizontal planes 118371300 Stevenson Dec. 1931 within said storage compartment and each of said stepped 5 2,091,607 Nave 31, 1937 shelves being reversible end-for-end and top-for-bottom 2,115,321 Schwellel' P 26, 1933 relative to said shelf supporting means to divide the FOREIGN PATENTS storage compartment into a plurality of storage spaces 931.737 France Nov 3 1947 of variable shapes and sizes. 

